Yours Alone
by Miss Elizabeth Darcy
Summary: True Love. Destiny. Soulmates. Draco Malfoy never believed such trash. At least, not until those blasted lips of Granger's had met his own.
1. Some Enchanted Evening

The soft whisper of violins echoed in the Great Hall as Hermione Granger entered the room, arm in arm with Ginevra Weasley.

As though on cue, the women had arrived at the end of a song. Although the next song had started to play, many eyes were upon Hermione and Ginny.

The pair glided across the floor, catching the attention of many men in the room. Yet, no one knew who they were... Or at least, no one knew it was Hermione. Hermione looked angelic with her white and silver mask, and no longer had uncontrollably curly hair.

Ginny, however, was not hard to recognize. She was, after all, probably the only redheaded woman in the room, excluding Mrs. Weasley.

"Oh my..." Ginny gasped, her gloved hand concealing her gaping mouth. "I have never seen the Hall like this. It's…"

"Magnificent." Hermione murmured. Her chocolate brown eyes glanced at her partner in crime as they both smiled.

"Can you believe that it's been a year since the war ended?" Ginny sighed. "It is so refreshing to actually celebrate for once."

Hermione pursed her lips. A year…time had gone by so fast. And yet, time had not gone by fast enough. The last thing she wanted was to talk about such a dark, horrible time, so she swiftly changed the subject.

"This masquerade ball is quite the celebration. I never imagined so many people would show up. Do you think you can find Harry, in this crowd?"

Ginny adjusted her black and gold mask, flashing Hermione a mischievous grin. "We're matching! Even if we weren't, I could find my Harry miles away. His eyes… they're-"

"Good lord, I know what color his eyes are. Please don't start, Ginny. You're going to make me sick."

The redhead giggled. "You don't know them the way I do. They're so soft, so passionate-"

"And _GREEN_. I think I get it. Can we stop discussing this?"

"But you don't know the shade of green. They're like emeralds-"

"Oh, hush. Go find him already before I hurl." Hermione laughed as she playfully shoved her friend into the crowd.

Ginny cackled and waved at Hermione as she walked deeper and deeper into the sea of people, until Hermione could no longer see her black and gold dress.

Hermione sighed. Matching outfits. Why hadn't Ron suggested that?

The brunette sighed once again as she adjusted her long, white gloves.

Oh. Right. Because he was Ron. She shook her head. At least his red hair was a dead giveaway. Or at least…almost. Too bad that George, Charlie and Bill were in the room too!

Gathering her white, puffy skirt, she walked over to an empty table and kicked off her high heel shoes. Hermione sighed with relief as she sunk into her seat, loving the cool breeze that caressed her burning skin. Due to the numbers of people in the room, it was starting to get very hot… Not to mention the elegant, stuffy dress she was forced to wear for the ball. It was beautiful, but it was also suffocating her.

"Hermione!"

The brunette jumped in her seat as Luna Lovegood plopped into the seat next to her.

"Oh my goodness! You look so much better than when we were in school!"

Hermione sighed, recovering from her mini heart attack. "Thank you…I…I think… Please, don't scare me like that. Is it you, Luna? How did you know it was me, with this mask?"

"Oops. You're welcome, I'm sorry, yes and… it was really obvious. Your aura is unique. " Luna chirped. "Now, where is Ron? And where's Harry? I haven't seen anyone here yet. Well, besides you. "

"Hmph. If I knew, I would tell you. Ginny went off to find Harry a while ago. As for Ronald, I obviously haven't found him yet."

"Well it doesn't seem like you're really looking for him." Luna laughed.

"Try finding him in a big, stupid dress like mine." Hermione scoffed as she attempted to put her heels back on. "I'll go look for him once I get used to moving in this stupid thing. Ginny made me wear this against my will."

"I can see why. It looks lovely on you."

Hermione blushed. She opened her mouth to speak, but the words died on her lips as a handsome man approach Luna's chair, softly placing his hands on her shoulders.

"There you are, Luna. And Hermione! Gosh, I haven't seen you in a while."

"Neville?" Hermione gasped at Luna, her chocolate brown eyes wide with surprise. "Wait, you aren't-?"

"I guess we are an unlikely couple." Luna smiled. "But…yes. Look."

The brunette could barely breathe as Luna showed her the dimond ring on her finger.

"When you wrote to me, you never mentioned _marriage_! When were you planning to tell me that you were married to Neville?"

The couple grinned at each other. "Well, we haven't really told anyone yet…Besides close family of course. We eloped."

Hermione half-giggled and half-cried, "Am I the only one who isn't engaged or married or having babies yet?"

"Who beat us on having kids?" Luna asked.

"Ron hasn't proposed yet?" Neville gasped.

Suddenly, Luna's eyes went wide. She grasped Neville's hand and stammered, "O-Oh! I love this song. Neville, let's go dance." And she stood and left as soon as she had come, taking her very confused husband with her.

Hermione frowned. While it was very like Luna to act weird, it still didn't explain-

The brunette jumped as she felt a cool hand grasp her own, looking up to see a handsome, blonde man in a gray and silver mask.

"Pardon me…" The man kissed the back of her hand, sending unexpected chills up her spine. "I did not mean to frighten you. My only intention was to ask if you could honor me with a dance."

The brunette gasped, shocked by the effect the strange man's kiss had on her. And that voice…She knew that voice…

What she did not know is that the word, "yes", had escaped her lips.

The moment was a blur. The next thing Hermione knew, the strange, blonde man's arm was around her waist, and she stepping in time to the waltz.

She tried looking at the man's face, but she could not recognize the blonde at all. She even looked deep into his eyes, and yet could not remember anyone who had eyes in that particular shade of bluish gray…

"Do I have something on my face?" The man chuckled as Hermione turned bright red, not realizing that she had been examining him for the duration of two songs.

"I'm sorry, I did not mean to force you to dance another song with me. I was so distracted, I'm-"

"On the contrary. Would you like to dance another piece with me?" The blonde looked at her, his bluish gray eyes full of…Hermione could not find an adjective to describe his look, but it made her heart skip a beat…several beats, actually.

"Yes." She murmured again, uncharacteristically fighting her brain and her conscience.

_Are you insane, Hermione Granger? Dancing again with a man who, may I remind you… IS NOT YOUR BOYFRIEND! Oh, and…IS A COMPLETE STRANGER! What are you doing?! And stop looking at him like that! Snap out of it, Hermione. Snap out of it!_

Hermione bit her lip as she ignored her thoughts, trying to focus for once on her feelings. She did not know why the man's grip on her made her breathless, or why merely staring into his eyes made the color in her cheeks rise once more. What she did know is that she had never felt so pleasantly confused in her life.

"You are an exquisite dancer." The man finally murmured. "Where did you learn to dance so gracefully? I think you are the first woman that I've danced with tonight that has not stepped on my foot."

Hermione laughed softly. "I'm just a natural."

The man smiled and grasped Hermione's waist tighter, much to the brunette's surprise.

"Well, you are the best dancer in this room…Excluding me, of course. I'm honored to be dancing with you."

The brunette smiled. "Well, aren't you charming? Do you say that to all the girls you dance with?"

"Of course not. Just you." The man gasped, pretending to be offended.

Hermione laughed once more as he twirled her around, unable to keep the smile off her face.

"What makes you think _you_ are the best dancer in the room?"

The blonde's smile turned into a mischievous grin. "You are going to regret asking that. You won't doubt my dancing skills for the next dance."

It was Hermione's turn to gasp. "Who told you I would agree to dance the next song?"

"You don't have to agree. How can I answer your question without showing you?"

"Well, you could always dance with another woman and I can watch from afar."

"Where is the fun in that?" The blonde scoffed. "Besides, what if the woman is inadequate to dance with? She could be awful, and that would ruin the dance."

"What if she was better than I was? Then it would make your dance better."

"I told you, you are the second best dancer in the room. Therefore, you have to be the one I dance with."

Hermione rolled her eyes, "But you say that to every woman you dance with. I am not, the second best-"

She gasped. "I am NOT the second best. I am the best dancer, and I can bloody prove it to you."

"Watch your language!" The blonde chuckled. "Next dance, we'll see who the best dancer out of the two of us is."

And so, they spent the remainder of the song laughing and teasing each other, until finally the next piece started.

The blonde placed one hand on the brunette's back firmly, and grasped her hand with the other.

Soon enough, they were both gliding across the dance floor, matching each other's steps perfectly.

The blonde led, and the brunette followed. Each one could feel what the other wanted. It was hard to explain, but they both knew they had lost their bet, for they had never felt so in sync with a dance partner before. As they stared into each other's eyes, they knew that the bet no longer mattered anyway. Instead, they wondered why they felt the way they did. They wondered why their hands fit together like a puzzle piece.

The dance almost felt like…pure magic. _Together_, they felt like magic.

And when the blonde dipped the brunette at the end of the song, he could not help but murmur, "Another dance?"

Hermione, lost in the man's bluish gray eyes, could only nod as she wrapped her arms around his neck once more.

* * *

**Questions? Comments? Concerns? Good or bad, please do say so!  
**


	2. You Don't Even Know Who I Am

Lightheaded.

Hermione could not think of an adequate term to describe her current emotions. For the first time in her life, she was absolutely bursting with feelings that she could not explain, and it terrified her. Despite it all, the brunette remained in the blonde man's arms. She could not pull herself away, nor could she stop looking into his eyes. She couldn't shake off the feeling that she knew him from somewhere, somehow…

Eventually, the couple danced their way into Hogwarts' gardens. To Hermione's surprise, there were Christmas lights illuminating the garden path, along with tables and chairs on the grass. Even the stars were sprinkled along the night sky, so beautifully, so delicately, that it almost seemed someone had purposely arranged them so. This was the best night Hermione had ever seen.

With his arm still around her waist, the blonde led his dance partner to a nearby table to rest, pulling out a chair for his lovely brunette.

"Thank you." Hermione breathed, tossing her high heels aside. She wiggled her bare feet in the blades of grass, sighing as she sunk into her chair.

"I can't believe I didn't ask you to dance before." The man chuckled. "You are unlike any other girl I've met."

Hermione raised her eyebrow. "I certainly do hope that was a compliment."

The blonde laughed, "It is, I promise. I do wish I had approached you sooner. Or at least, I wish I would've danced with you sooner. It would've saved me a lot of bruised toes."

Hermione's cheeks hurt from smiling and laughing. Even her sides were starting to ache, and yet… the pain was sweet. She had not felt so content in a very, very long time.

"Well, thank you I suppose. But, kind gentleman, I do not know your name." Her smile died as she dared to look directly into his bluish grey eyes. "You look so familiar, and yet you are a complete stranger to me."

The man slowly stood from his spot, offering one of his hands to her. Hermione merely looked up at him, giving him an utterly puzzled look.

"Please, come. Take a moonlight stroll with me. Perhaps then I will be less of a stranger to you. "

The blonde lightly kissed Hermione's trembling hand as he took it, making her turn a bright shade of pink.

The witch was honestly afraid to walk with the man so awfully close to her. Her knees were shaking like mad, and her balance was unsteady. She was afraid she would fall flat on her face the moment he decided to touch her once more.

"When did you first learn to dance?"

Hermione blinked in surprise. "What?"

The blonde smiled. "I would love to know how you learned to dance so gracefully… Where on earth did you learn to move like that?"

"Well…"

* * *

Hermione completely lost track of time. After who knew how many minutes or hours they spent in the garden, the brunette felt as though she had known the blonde forever. They had talked about so many topics, Hermione could hardly keep track. Her head was spinning, and her heart was racing. She definitely needed to lie down before she fainted, or something equally embarrassing happened.

Completely disregarding her precious dress, Hermione sat in the grass, with the blonde promptly sitting right beside her.

For a moment, the two sat in complete silence, gazing at the stars above them in quiet contemplation. Their eyes hesitantly met after a couple of minutes, each individual equally astounded by the pace at which their hearts were beating. When their hands met as well, time went completely still.

When brunette turned her head, she found the man's lips only a few centimeters from her own. Hermione let out a little gasp, yet could not move. She was paralyzed, and could only stare at the man's soft, approaching lips.

Everything happened in slow motion. His lips touched hers ever so delicately, and yet Hermione could see fireworks the moment she closed her eyes. The man's delectable lips were gentle, and questioning. Hermione felt herself blushing as her lips intuitively answered his kiss with a passion she didn't know she possessed. His arms wrapped around her slim waist, and her hands automatically went into his hair.

She did not feel his hand untie her mask, as she was entranced by the way his lips made her tremble all over.

As she parted her lips from his to breathe, however, she felt the mask fall from her.

It was as though someone had thrown a bucket of ice, cold water at her face. Hermione gasped once more, yet was finally able to stand up.

"I'm so, so sorry. I shouldn't have done this, I don't know what I was thinking, I-"

Hermione felt hot tears rolling down her cheek as she gathered the skirts of her dress and tried to breakaway.

"_Hermione_? Wait, please-" The blonde grabbed her arm firmly, pulling her close until their noses touched.

"Who are you?" She murmured, her eyes glimmering with fresh tears.

" _Hermione_…" He whispered again, almost as if he was fascinated by her name. He slowly leaned in once more and gave her a reluctant, yet soft peck on the lips. "I-"

"Hermione! UGH! WHERE ARE YOU?! HERRRRMIIIIOOONNNEEEE!"

The brunette froze. Ginny's voice echoed again as she called for Hermione, sounding relatively close.

"I'm so sorry..."

And before Draco could say anything, she yanked her arm out of his grip and was gone.

* * *

**Thank you so much for the reviews! I was so worried no one was going to like it.**

**Just to let you know, all of the chapter titles are going to be the names of waltz songs. **

**Good? Bad? Ugly? Review and let me know!**


	3. Most of All, Why?

_Hermione Granger._

Draco swore under his breath. It couldn't be her.

But it was. He caressed her smooth face, wove his finger into her soft curls, and tasted her plump lips. The flavor of sweet, succulent strawberries lingered on _his_ lips, lips that trembled from the tender kiss.

Draco was never one to exaggerate-

_Well, okay, maybe sometimes I am a little dramatic..._ Draco admitted to himself.

But this time, he hated to say the words out loud. Hell, he hated to even think them.

_Granger is a damn good kisser._

The blonde scowled. He had never been so exhilarated by a simple kiss.

Malfoys never, ever, never lusted this way over a woman. Especially not-

_MERLIN!_

Draco hissed once more . He didn't care about the whole muggle versus pureblood rubbish anymore.

Women lusted over Malfoys, anyway. Not the other way around!

Muggle or not, Granger was awful. She was irritating, and bossy. Not to mention so…brave… intelligent… And so bloody _compassionate_! It was disgusting.

And yet, Malfoy touched his lips tentatively, craving another kiss.

_No, no, NO!_

Draco fought the sudden urge to slap himself. He should not think of Granger ever again, despite their night together.

He could not bring himself to lie, either. It had been a magical night. In fact, the night would have been perfect, had it not been Granger behind the silver and white mask. Even though the mysterious woman had turned out to be Granger, he could not force himself to obliviate the event from his mind. Oblivating the memory would be rational, and would be the best thing to do. He should erase every trace of Granger in his mind, but he could not.

He did not want to forget the best kiss of his life.

Irritated by his weakness, Draco marched toward the ballroom. Perhaps Blaise would talk some sense into him.

* * *

Hermione had been quiet the entire walk back to the castle's ballroom, which was highly unusual for the brilliant, inquisitive woman. Even though the witch was not extremely talkative, she was not silent either. Her eyes looked a little swollen, although she merely muttered an excuse about getting mascara in her eye. Nevertheless, something was off.

"Hermione, what's wrong?"

The brunette jumped, her hand immediately pressing against her heart in fright. "I'm sorry. What did you say?"

The redhead raised an eyebrow. "Have you been paying attention to me at all? You look…distant. You've got that look."

"What look?"

"That look that you're thinking about something very, very intensely. What is it?"

Hermione gave her another look, to which Ginny scoffed.

"Fine. You don't want to tell now, but you'll tell me soon enough."

The witch winced. "Okay…" She sighed, sounding defeated. "I need to talk to Ron."

Ginny bit her lip nervously. "What about, exactly?"

"Well- _Oomph_!"

Hermione did not have the time to reply, as a tall, raven haired man enthusiastically embraced her.

"Harry?" She laughed. "You can let go of me now!"

"No!" Was his muffled reply. "Never!"

Ginny saw Hermione's previously worried look disappear as Harry released her.

"You look beautiful by the way. I haven't seen you in a week, and it feels like forever."

"Tell me about it." Hermione rolled her eyes. "You and your ridiculous Auror training."

"I should be done soon!"

"Pssshhh. A couple of months." Ginny snorted.

"Hey, that's soon! It could have been years, had Kingsley not decided to make me head of the Auror Department."

Hermione smiled. "You were the obvious choice."

"Duh! Who could beat 'defeated Voldemort' on their resume?" Ginny added with a grin.

Harry laughed. "Either way, I'm honored. Our new team of Aurors will be brilliant, even if Malfoy is going to be in it." He scrunched up his face in mock disgust.

The brunette gasped. "What? Since when is Malfoy going to be an Auror?"

"Since Kingsley and I accepted his application… I thought I told you. I told Ginny-"

"But how could you possibly do that?"

"Hermione-"

"Shush, Gin. I'm talking to Harry." She grimaced. "Seriously? After everything that's happened-"

"Hermione, please. Let's not talk about work anymore, okay? I didn't think it would upset you so much-"

"No, you didn't think in general!" Hermione hissed. "It's one thing to keep Malfoy out of Azkaban, but it's another to let him be an Auror!"

Harry frowned. "I get that. We've been holding his application for several months now. Obviously, we thought about everything before letting him in."

"No, you couldn't have-"

"Stop it! I didn't think you, _of all people_, would be so damn judgmental."

"_Judgmental_?! How can you even-"

"Would both of you just shut up?" Ginny snarled. "We're in public and you've been embarrassing yourselves for the past five minutes. You'll be lucky if the press didn't somehow manage record or take pictures of this."

The two friends finally had the decency to be embarrassed.

"You could've stopped us earlier." Hermione whispered, her cheeks burning scarlet.

"I tried but both of you wouldn't stop arguing." Ginny huffed.

Harry sighed. "I'm sorry, Hermione. I shouldn't have mentioned it. Not tonight, at least, when-_Ooof_!"

The raven haired man doubled over from the force of the blow. Ginny had elbowed him quite viciously before he could get the sentence out.

"When what? What's going on?" Hermione scrunched her eyebrows in confusion.

"Don't mind him. He was just going to say he didn't want to ruin your night because it's a celebration in memory of our loved ones, and everything that happened. We're supposed to be happy that we get to live another day without Voldemort torturing us all."

Hermione narrowed her eyes. "Then why did you elbow him?"

Ginny flushed. "Oh, just come with me. "

The redhead hastily grabbed Hermione's arm, leading her through the crowded ballroom. The next thing she knew, Hermione was almost to the front of the ballroom and up on a stage, where Ron handsomely stood in his tuxedo.

Ginny was no longer next to her, and had gone up to whisper into Ron's ear. Ron's smile wavered, quickly turning into a nervous frown. He nodded, and soon Ginny was next to her again.

Ron tapped his glass with his wand, amplifying the clinking sound and drawing the attention of the entire ballroom. Whispers were heard across the room, but all eyes were upon the pale, redheaded man.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, good evening. Thank you for coming to our first Great War Gala. It has been a year since the war ended…"

The whispers died down.

"We have been through many things since then, both good and bad. We've lost, and we've won. We've forgiven, but never forgotten. We've cried, we've laughed…We've tried to move on, but the past still lingers."

The room was finally dead silent.

"This celebration is not to celebrate death, nor is it to celebrate our victory over Voldemort."

"It's not?" A man whispered in the audience.

"Our victory over Voldemort was simply a consequence of our love. Our love for our families, our friends, our people…" Ron looked directly at Hermione. "Our love was strong. We did not fight Voldemort, we defended ourselves from him. We did everything for love, and for nothing else."

_Where on earth is Ron going with this?_ Hermione wondered.

"This celebration is for love."

Someone in the audience began to clap, and soon the entire ballroom was applauding.

"Thank you." Ron murmured as the room quieted down. "Today, I have a very special announcement. Since this is a celebration for love, I decided this would be appropriate for the occasion-"

_Oh god no. _Hermione whitened.

She did not hear the rest of his words; she was too busy trying to get herself to breathe properly. Her legs felt like jelly as George Weasley led her up the stage. She felt like hyperventilating. Or running away….Or both.

"Hermione…" Ron croaked, visibly shaking at this point. "We've only been official for a year. I know this might be too soon for others, but I feel that the time is right."

_No! No, no! It's way too soon!_

"I've known you since our very first year of Hogwarts. At first, I couldn't stand you."

There were chuckles in the audience.

"Now, I can't imagine my life without you. You are the woman I want to spend the rest of my life with."

_Oh god, oh god, oh god, oh god! Please, don't!_

He did. Hermione felt as though everything was in slow motion. Ron eventually got down to one knee, with a velvet box in his left hand. The redhead opened the box to reveal what was obviously an engagement ring. He very clearly said to her, "Hermione Jean Granger…would you be my wife?"

Hermione couldn't breathe. Without warning, her mouth replied with a, "Maybe."

More chuckles were heard in the audience as Ron grinned, standing up from his position to walk towards her.

Tucking a loose curl behind her ear, Ron leaned in to kiss her. Hermione felt his lips touch hers, yet her lips made no effort to kiss back. Luckily enough, Ron only leaned in for a mild peck, leaving enough time for him not to notice her shock.

She had managed to tune out the applause until that point, when everything hit her like a mountain of bricks.

Didn't Ron hear her say _MAYBE_?! Since when maybe a yes?

Hermione let out a shaky breath. Her engagement was official...

And she didn't even say yes.

* * *

**Please don't hate me! Everything is happening for a reason, I promise. Also,please let me know if anything is confusing. Thank you for those of you who reviewed. I read every single review and smile! Let me know if you'd like me to start replying to you personally. This story wouldn't exist or develop without you guys. Point out if there are any horrible mistakes as well, yeah? **

**Questions? Comments? Concerns? REVIEW! **


End file.
